I'd be interested in that veggie Scotch egg recipe, Christopher. Any idea where I might get it?
On the whole, on board cuisine sounds pretty luxurious. I'm used to lugging a backpack around on hiking trips and eating things like super noodles because they're light. It's nice to find a sport where weight doesn't have to be that crucial and you can tuck into a good feed at the end of a day on the water.
They sell veggie scotch eggs in Holland & Barrette.
Depending on the boat you are on will vary what food you are consuming. There is one boat that did the Fastnet in 2005 which only had pot noodle for the crew to eat in hope of saving weight, but if you have a stable boat that it is easy to cook aboard; there is nothing to stop you from making some thing a little more gourmet.
If you are supersticious beware pasties.I believe thay bring bad luck. Same goes for Pork Pies probably. Unless, perhaps, you call them something else!
My favourite is a dozen oysters washed down with a glass of Guiness.
The most popular food on my boat when racing, has always been supermarket bought pre-cooked chicken drumsticks - no plates needed, can be eaten one handed, - into the mouth, bite with teeth, strip the flesh and chuck the bone over the side, and everyone is ready for another tack!
Another favourite is curry pasties - one of my crew's mother makes large quantities and they get gobbled up in no time.
Both the above have the advantage that they need no preparation, will keep (not in a fridge) for a day or so, have no washing up and can be eaten on the move!
Davids Oyster/Guiness starter seems the business. Isn't it the pastie that was traditionally in two sections, one end having the main meal and a pastry wall which seperated it from the pudding end? That seems a logical and simple way of having a meal in one on a yacht. Does anyone know if they are still popular anywhere ?
p.s. What happened to the lovely Susan Vittery? Her photo gives me the impression she needs building up a bit, perhaps she could do with some Guiness too?
I guess we need a Cornish contribution to confirm pastie make-up.
Interestingly, my Father (a Cornishman by birth & upbringing), always said that everyone in "England" (as he called it) pronounced the word incorrectly - using the short "a" sound (as in paddle), he always pronounced pastie using the long "a" as in party. Or was it just an affectation?
But of course the absolutely perfectly best meal onboard, is to spin for mackerel, once caught, immediately gut, chuck in a pan with some butter and just fry gently- then wow!
If you've never eaten mackerel fried straight from the sea, you've never lived! Try it and you'll see what I mean!
Of course, you all realise there are no calories in any of this lot, especially broken biscuits, if you don't eat any of it. So there you are, the perfect diet!
Now for that veggie recipe for Scotch Eggs - It's all in English.
Ingredients:- 1lb brown bread crumbs, 1/2lb cashews, 1/2lb other nuts of choice, 1lb carrots grated, 1 med. onion finely chopped, 1pt tomato juice or milk, 4 eggs (preferably hens'!), 2 tbspns oil, a few mixed herbs. Drink a good scotch.
Method:- Mix everything together and let it soak. Take 3-4oz of the mix and flatten, using flour to stop it sticking, then wrap it round a hard boiled and shelled egg, dust with flour and deep fry on med. heat for about 7mins turning occasionally.
This is my Mother-in-Law's recipe, so the buck stops with her, and she has gone to that big galley in the sky, and it was her who drove me to drink, so have another scotch.
I had a visitor to my boat recently and she produced her famous, allegedly, ‘Gorp’ mix, good on rough passage. Not exactly a meal but great when you’re on watch and in need of a little distraction and sustenance between meals. Take one large Tupperware container, fill it with unsalted nuts and dried fruit of every available variety, thrown in a few chocolate covered versions of said fruit and nut, the odd packet of smarties/minstrels/M&M’s and a bunch of jelly babies to kick it all round and mix it up for you, fantastic. I guess for those without a sweet tooth you can do the same thing with savoury things, dry roast nuts, pretzels, Bombay mix, etc.
Otherwise I’m with all the other heathens’ pork pies, pasties, cup a soup, etc. However you can’t beat ships stew if you want a proper nosh and a big favourite with my crew over the years. Get hold of good stewing steak and some minced beef, every root vegetable available, sliced and diced, a glass or three of red wine, couple of cans of Campbells Oxtail soup, few herbs and spices, and Bobs your butch auntie. I usually do this at home Thursday night before a weekend trip, in the slow cooker overnight and its ready to be heated up when you want. Easiest to eat from a high sided dog bowl if you’re rocking about a bit! Oh and for those veggies amongst you it can still work minus the meaty bits, just add a bit more wine and a few extra herbs and some Bisto to thicken it up.
About 50 years ago on my father's boat we were running short of supplies and the cook (my mother) was not on board, we tipped all the remaining tins into a saucepan and heated it up. Stewed steak baked beans, tomatoe soup, peas etc, and all agreed it was the best meal we had ever had (isn't it always when you are out of doors and enjoying yourself!) We named it Gillaroo Stew after the boat.
It has sine been named after every boat we have since owned: Yira Stew, Cinder Stew, Pavonan Stew, Hairy Pear Stew (that boat was named before we bought her). However, when we started calling our boats 'Chimp' (we are now on the fourth) we got funny looks when we talked about Chimp Stew, so it has gone back to being Gillaroo Stew. The ingredients depend on what is in the locker at the time.
When you'r hungry, anything tastes good. Especially the bit you scrape off the plate with a slice of bread.
At sea. something you can heat in the oven is safer than something that needs stirring on the hob. On leg one of the Triangle, Tesco lasagne (served in the plastic dishes it comes in, so no washing up!) was a real treat. And we were hard on the wind, so proper cooking would have been more difficult!
Delivering a Bav Match 35 a month ago - the owner with us reckoned we couldn't eat properly on board and wanted to stock on packert cr*p.
So we let him toddle off in supermarket in Rostock and get what he wanted. My mate and I sorted real stuff ... EXCEPT we stayed away from fresh meat as the 4 day trip was in reasonable temps and not much chance to run the "fridge". Tinned meats subbed.
So we ate : (my cook-ups) - Beef Tikka and Rice with fruit and Yoghurt to follow. Spaghetti Bolognese with Blue cheese and crackers to follow. Sweet and Sour Chicken with saffron rice ... cheese / bickies to follow. BBQ Pork ribs grilled with potatoes and mixed veg. My mate produced - Pasta mixed with diced german sausage, cream soup added to mix. Larder soup / stew (namely all left that could go in !!)
Owner sat quiet and scoffed eveything dished up !
Delivery was Rostock to Ventspils non-stop. Needless to say that most of the cr*p owner bought was still in packets when we arrived at Ventspils !!
My normal routine on board is to stock up on shelf bought sandwiches in the plastic wrap for outward bound bit. They last more than 2-3 days surprisingly without cool-box. Backed up with Cheese and baguettes, Pies of any description I can get literally, "Calbersaa" - Russian smoked sausage - lasts weeks. Main meal stuff based on tinned / processed so that no problem with lack of fridge. You'd be surprised at the curries / chinky stuff I can knock up from tinned rubbish !! Of course I carry more than enough for Traditional English Brekkies !!
I have never had any complaints from crew so far !!
I have to say that I eat better on the boat than I do at home, we have a very good cook onboard. weetabix when I wake up then its normally a fry up for lunch and mince & tatties for tea. it dosent get any better than that.
Funny my wife comments if I have a full english at home during working week.... but weekends and espcially on boat it's accepted as norm ! Even she eats full english on board.
But I have to say that one of the best was west bound through solent, spray and sh*t everywhere ... 4 of us all getting soaked, at frequent intervals I ducked down into cabin to grab :
hand-ripped off sections of baguette with mature cheddar stuffed into it and glasses of red wine .... handed up between waves !! No-one cared that odd bits of solent ended up in glasses - it was enjoyed by all !!
Of course, you all realise there are no calories in any of this lot, especially broken biscuits, if you don't eat any of it. So there you are, the perfect diet! 
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